Grand jury rules in Michael Brown's death

Ferguson, Missouri, erupted after a prosecutor announced Officer Darren Wilson would not be indicted in the August 9 death of Michael Brown.Though many peaceful protesters took to Ferguson's streets, the images beamed out of the St. Louis suburb largely included looting, cars on fire, riot gear, gunshots and tear gas.Officials say it surpasses the worst violence in the August protests that followed the shooting.

A Ferguson fireman surveys the rubble of a strip mall burned during protests.

The grand jury investigating Officer Darren Wilson will announce today whether he should be charged in the August 9 death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, U.S. and area law enforcement officials tell CNN.

Repeatedly, residents of Ferguson have said that with all the national attention and so much focus on the violent elements within the demonstrations -- many of them out-of-towners -- their voices are getting lost.

A marriage license says that Officer Darren Wilson got married last month.

It appears that as the spotlight was on Ferguson and Michael Brown's death, Officer Darren Wilson quietly got married to a fellow Ferguson Police Department officer, according to a source close to Wilson. Wilson, 28, and Barbara Spradling, 37, were married October 24, their marriage license says.Read the story here.

by eliott.mclaughlin11/24/2014 7:13:37 PM

Hands up

Artist Damon Davis walks past some of his posters last week.

Along the main protest route in Ferguson, West Florissant Avenue, many businesses have boarded up their windows in anticipation of more protests. St. Louis artist Damon Davis installed posters from his Push Forward Project over the boards to spruce up the thoroughfare. "The plywood is so ugly," he said in an interview last week.

by eliott.mclaughlin11/24/2014 7:25:38 PM

When will it end?

Byron Conley, protesting outside the Ferguson Police Department, told CNN's Sara Sidner that people are tense, agitated and, to some degree, afraid. More than that, they want to put this matter behind them.“We’re just ready for it to be over with. Let’s get on with our lives," he said. "Of course, people are afraid. But more or less the thing is, you know, they just want it over. They just want it over.”

by eliott.mclaughlin edited by forrest.brown11/24/2014 7:32:42 PM

Lawyer: No notice for Browns

Attorney Ben Crump tells CNN Legal Analyst Sunny Hostin that no one notified him, co-counsel Anthony Gray or Michael Brown's family about the imminent grand jury announcement. The family first learned of the upcoming decision from CNN and is upset that no one from the prosecutor's office, which previously agreed to provide the family advanced notice, reached out to them, Crump said.

by eliott.mclaughlin edited by forrest.brown11/24/2014 7:45:26 PM

Michael Brown Sr. issued a statement last week thanking protesters for raising their voices to end racial profiling and police intimidation but in the same breath urged them to remain peaceful, no matter the grand jury's decision. "I do not want my son's death to be in vain," he said.

Rick Canamore of nearby Normandy, where Michael Brown attended high school, is a regular fixture at the protests in Ferguson, and he feels that Darren Wilson will not be indicted.

Even if the officer is indicted, protests and demands for justice must continue, he said. The area’s working-class African-Americans are tired of being hassled by police over things he says residents of more affluent areas don’t have to contend with.“This is just the first step,” he said.

by eliott.mclaughlin11/24/2014 8:07:29 PM

by eliott.mclaughlin11/24/2014 8:13:00 PM

What may come?

The grand jury hearing evidence in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown can clear the officer of any crimes. If the grand jury decides there is probable cause to charge Wilson, he will likely face a manslaughter or murder charge.CNN's Dana Ford broke down the charges and potential sentences in a story last week. You can check it out here.

by eliott.mclaughlin11/24/2014 8:19:39 PM

Grand jury sent home

The grand jury looking into the shooting death of Michael Brown has been released and sent home, local and federal law enforcement sources tell CNN's Shimon Prokupecz. The prosecutor will formally announce at 5 p.m. ET that a decision has been reached by the grand jury. The announcement of the actual decision will come later, the sources said.

by eliott.mclaughlin edited by forrest.brown11/24/2014 8:23:43 PM

Confirmation by prosecutor's office

The Office of the Prosecuting Attorney in St. Louis County just sent a statement to the media confirming that the grand jury has reached a decision, as previously reported. "Details to follow," the statement says.

by mariano.castillo11/24/2014 8:47:54 PM

Brown family asks for moment of silence

The family of Michael Brown is asking for four and a half minutes of silence before protests begin.

The time period is a reference to the approximately four hours Michael Brown's body lay in the street after he was shot.

An investigation by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper found that county detectives were 30 miles away when they were called, and the first detective arrived about 90 minutes after the shooting. When a hearse later arrived, an angry crowd had gathered, and it was too dangerous to get the body, authorities said. Ultimately, a SWAT team came.

There are some witnesses who say they saw Michael Brown attack Darren Wilson. Others say Wilson was the aggressor. This timeline compares the distinct versions of events according to some witnesses, to law enforcement and to supporters of Wilson.

Ferguson-area schools were already planning on being off Wednesday through Friday for Thanksgiving, but with the grand jury announcement today, the Ferguson-Florissant School District has canceled classes and activities for Tuesday, too.

The St. Louis County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney confirms that the grand jury's decision will be announced at 8 p.m. local time (9 p.m. ET).

by mariano.castillo edited by forrest.brown11/24/2014 11:12:16 PM

Governor calls for restraint

Whatever the grand jury in the Ferguson case has decided, "people on all sides (should) show tolerance, mutual respect and restraint," Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon says at news conference.

by CNN's Steve Almasy edited by forrest.brown11/24/2014 11:40:34 PM

County executive appeals for calm

The residents of St. Louis County should "think with their heads and not with emotion" after the grand jury's decision on whether to indict Officer Darren Wilson is announced, St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley said.

"I do not want people in this community to think they have to barricade their doors and take up arms. We are not that kind of community. I do not want people to accidentally shoot or harm someone out of fear," he said.

by CNN's Steve Almasy edited by forrest.brown11/24/2014 11:45:11 PM

Mayor speaks to deep divisions

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay says protesters will be protected to peacefully demonstrate but that damage to property will not be tolerated. "What happened to Michael Brown has deeply divided us," Slay said. "Whatever is announced this evening, some people are going to be angry and frustrated."

He added: “St. Louis finds itself with an opportunity to show the nation the ways in which a community can be more fair and more just for everyone. We must seize this opportunity together.”

About 75 people have gathered outside of Ferguson Police Department headquarters, CNN's Sara Sidner reports. Most of the people want to see an indictment, they said. There also are people who live in Ferguson who just want this to be over.

Police officers have come out of the building, and they were not wearing riot gear. If they feel things are getting more tense, they will go back in and put their protective gear on, they told Sidner.

Right now, this protest is on the sidewalk, and folks are simply chanting, she says.

by CNN's Steve Almasy edited by forrest.brown11/25/2014 12:43:24 AM

No matter the Grand Jury's decision, @SLMPD is dedicated to keeping the peace & protecting the rights of ALL citizens. #preservingpeace

Brown family attorney Benjamin Crump tells CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” that thefamily still doesn't know the grand jury’s decision. “They have told us thatthey are going to tell us before they make the announcement publicly.”

Crump restated the family’s frustration with St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch.

“We just have to take them at their word (about getting word before the news becomes public). The family has great mistrust with this prosecutor’s office,” Crump said.

He again called for a special prosecutor to take up the case.

by CNN's Steve Almasy edited by Sarah Aarthun11/25/2014 1:08:50 AM

Views on violence ahead of tonight's expected protests

NAACP President and CEO Cornell William Brooks spoke to CNN:

The NAACP stands with a generation of youthful practitioners of democracy who have been on the street week after week, days on end seeking justice for a grieving family. ...We expect and hope and believe that these protests will be nonviolent.

We've heard all this nonsense talk about peaceful protests, and, I mean, that's just not what happened. You know, for two weeks following Michael Brown's shooting there were attempts to murder and injure police officers every night. We're hoping for the best but we're bracing for the worst.

I think it's sad that there's this expectation of violence. That's crazy.

by mariano.castillo edited by forrest.brown11/25/2014 1:11:16 AM

New York rally for Ferguson

Around 200 protesters gather in Union Square in New York on Monday night ahead of the grand jury decision in the Darren Wilson-Michael Brown case.

by CNN's Steve Almasy11/25/2014 1:17:57 AM

Demonstrators take to the street

From CNN's Sara Sidner: Protesters have begun to stop cars in the road in front of the Ferguson Police Station. A helicopter flies above as the crowd grows larger and larger. The mass of demonstrators is taking over the street. Things are getting a little more tense.

Many people are puzzled as to why the announcement is going to come well after dark.

“It does not take public safety into account,” St. Louis Alderman Antonio French said. “This has been another case I think of a misstep by this county prosecutor. “This has been another case I think of a misstep by this county prosecutor."

CNN Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin was more blunt.

"I think it’s a crazy idea to do it at this hour,” he said.

Police officers don't like to deal with big crowds after nightfall," he said."There’s a reason why when the police give permission to have rallies, it’s always during the day,” he said. “It just seems a needless risk to me.”

In the county seat of Clayton, a very small group has gathered outside St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch's office. Most demonstrators are just standingaround. Some police are standing by, but overall, not much activity right now, CNN's Shimon Prokupecz reports.

by CNN's Steve Almasy edited by forrest.brown11/25/2014 1:42:08 AM

Retired cop: Police departments need makeover

Ray Lewis, a retired police captain, has a message.

Ray Lewis could not have stood out more among the demonstrators Monday. He is a white man dressed in full police uniform. His sign said: “Police: try love.”

Lewis was a police captain in Philadelphia. He’s retired now but came down to Ferguson to show solidarity with the protesters and to highlight what he perceives as excessive use of force in police precincts across America.

“I wanted to bring a white police captain’s face to show people in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas that too often blacks are shows as rioting and as criminals and that is just not true.” he told CNN's Moni Basu. “Think twice about judging these people.”

“I am not anti-cop. I am anti-corrupt cop,” he said, adding that he was thinking about crossing the street and shaking the hands of his police brethren guarding the entrance to the Ferguson Police Department.

All around him, the crowd chanted: “Mike Brown! Mike Brown!”

Lewis said there was a lot of truth to what’s being said about white cops not hesitating to pull the trigger on young black men. Police departments, he said, ought to think about recruiting officers who are more sensitive. Otherwise, they are perceived as an occupying force.

“There’s a thousand Fergusons all over America. Police departments need a total makeover.”

A source close to Darren Wilson told CNN's Don Lemon that the officer's representatives -- through a process of deduction -- have determined that he will not be indicted. At this point, if there was going to be an indictment, Wilson would have been asked to surrender, the source said late Monday.

by CNN's Steve Almasy edited by forrest.brown11/25/2014 1:57:09 AM

Prosecutor to make lengthy statement

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert McCulloch plans to make a 20-minute statement to open tonight's news conference, according to the prosecutor’s office. He then will take questions for most of the hourlong conference, CNN's Shimon Prokupecz reports. He will close with a final statement, his office tells CNN.